Chapter 12 Brigid
TWELVE
brIGID
I’d been hoping for years now that my father would allow me to be involved with the family business.
Hell, it was why I had chosen to study business and finance in school.
I wanted to be involved in all facets of my family’s operations, from the fronts to the public all the way down to the seedy underbelly of what we did.
But standing here in a room full of men looking at me with everything from lust to disgust, I had to make sure I girded myself and proved how strong I really was.
Because if they found my weakness, I’d be eaten alive.
I still had issues stomaching my shock, though. Had I known the kind of things Puck was into in his personal life I would’ve never slept with him in the first place. Where the hell had his leather cut been last night? Did he intentionally take it off?
Did he take it off and seek me out intentionally?
Nevertheless, I knew my father couldn’t find out what had transpired between me and Puck. If he figured it out, I’d never be allowed to assist in any business dealings ever again. Every time I looked over at him, though, the only thing that raced through my body was anger.
Sheer and unadulterated anger at being left alone after such a romantic, passionate, promising night.
He’s just some stupid bad boy that thinks he can have any woman he wants. He isn’t worth your time.
He had me and now he wanted nothing to do with me. That was his prerogative, and it needed to be mine. But I couldn’t help the stolen glances at his muscles through his white t-shirt and the way his jeans formed to his chiseled legs as if they were painted on.
And every time he moved, shuffled his feet, or changed positions, it reminded me of how wonderful it felt to have his naked body pressed against my own.
I have to avoid him at all costs.
Which would be hard since he was my escort now apparently.
“Brigid,” Dad said.
I drew in a deep breath and looked up at him. “Yes?”
He held his arms out. “Are you going to fill us in on this mysterious contact I didn’t know you had?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do you think it’s smart to use that kind of language in front of people we don’t know?”
He waved his hand at me. “Just get on with it. You and your mother have always been way too into the suspense of delivering news.”
I grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
A few of the guys chuckled around me, and I couldn’t help but steal a glance at Puck to see if I had made him laugh as well. But his face sat cold and unwavering, which only made me more nervous.
Still, I kept a cool outer facade and cleared my throat. “Her name is Lori, and I’ve been working with her during my volunteer hours at a rehab clinic on the other side of town. She’s told me a lot about the Banderas Cartel that not a lot of street knowledge would be able to give her.”
“Street knowledge?” Stone asked.
Kieran leaned into Stone’s ear. “Knowledge anyone can get by asking someone on the street.”
Stone nodded. “Ah, gotcha.”
“So,” Clancy said, “what did she tell you?”
And for once, I was the one holding my father’s attention instead of my brothers.